“梦想之桥”带来经济实效

An
old chinese proverb says if you want to get rich, builds road first.
Connectivity by roads will keep vibrating the economy with exploring
lots of untapped opportunities. It is not only about the transportation
of goods but also the flow of people that in fact provides job
opportunities for people from remote or less-developed areas. It is
expected to be happening in Bangladesh as the growing economy in South
Asia is connecting 21 southern districts by road with the capital Dhaka
and other parts through building a 6.15-kilometer-long bridge over the
mighty river called Padma. The country of nearly 170 million populations
just celebrated its 50 years of independence and it has crossed many
milestones over the years and is likely to achieve many in the coming
years. Another feather in the cap was added on December 10,2020 when the
last span of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge was installed. The dream of
having a bridge over the mighty Padma river is going to be fulfilled
finally after overcoming numerous setbacks and all odds with China plays
an important role to make the large infrastructure visible. The
multipurpose bridge is a key BRI (belt and road initiative) project that
is expected to be partly completed by 2022. This long-awaited bridge
carries significance for Bangladesh and Bangladesh-China relationship on
several accounts.

Why the bridge important for Bangladesh

The
bridge means a lot for Bangladesh. The double-decker Padma Bridge, with
road and rail tracks, is expected to contribute around 1.2 percent to
the annual GDP growth, reduce poverty and increase economic activities
of the people of the impoverished southwest region. The impact of the
Bridge will be manifold. It will remove the last great geographical
barrier that divides our country. The country used to be divided into
disjointed parts because of the two mighty rivers – Padma and Jamuna.
With the construction of the Bangabandhu bridge over Jamuna, the first
barrier was removed in 1998. Now, with the construction of the Padma
bridge, we are close to moving towards an integrated and well-connected
economy moving into the twenty-first century.

With
a high growth of its gross domestic product (GDP) the country has
increased its per capita income much more than many of its peers and
reduced the rate of poverty. Bangladesh is also ahead of South Asian and
other least developed countries (LDCs) in several social indicators.
This has helped Bangladesh to qualify for graduation from the LDC
category in 2018 by fulfilling all three criteria set by the United
Nations. On the context ofSDGs (sustainable development goals), the
bridge will hep lessen regional  growth disparity with improving
livelihood of people living in the 21  southern districts.

According
to a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) study, a 10 percent
decrease in travel time to and from Dhaka will lead to a 5.5 percent
increase in district economic output. The annual average daily traffic
would be around 29,278 by 2024, as projected by ADB. The benefits of the
project would be equivalent to an annual increase of at least 1.7
percent of southwest region GDP in value and of 0.56 percent of annual
increase of national GDP, according to the World Bank (WB) project
appraisal document in 2011.

It
also said the poverty reduction rate would increase by one percent in
the southwest region and by 0.8 percent at the national level.

The
Padma Bridge will reduce travel time between Dhaka and Mongla port,
which is shorter in distance than the Chattogram port from Dhaka –
Chattogram's 264 kilometres against Mongla's 170 kilometres. Greater
movement of freight between Dhaka-Mongla port will also reduce the
congestion at the Chattogram port.

It
will also provide direct links between two major seaports of the
country and will be an integral part of the Asian Highway One and
Trans-Asian railway network systems
(Sylhet-Kanchpur-Dhaka-Mawa-Jashore-Benapole, connecting Kolkata to the
eastern part of India on the eastern side of Bangladesh), said the
appraisal report of WB.

Its importance on BRI

One
of the major objectives of the chinese BRI move is to build critical
but much needed physical infrastructure among the signatory nations to
lead such an economic vibrancy that would last for years. Chinese pushes
forward the idea of BRI in the 21st century as they do firmlhy believe
that a triangle of exclusive connectivity (through road, rail and
waterway) can ensure economic sustainability.

Bangladesh
does not have smooth connectivity in terms of roads and rail networks
with its 21 southerns districts, which  covers approximately 27 percent
of the country and is home to nearly a quarter of its over 160 million
population. With building the double-decker Padma Bridge, with road and
rail tracks, three types of exclusive communication will be developed
and it will ultimately make the southern or coastal regions a lucrative
zone for industrial setup in the way how does Yangtze river reshape
chinese industrial landscape. Pandma River Economic Belt can be
developed in the southern part. Chinese government is also investing in
the project to develop railway track as part of its BRI activities as
the bridge will directly connect highly resourceful but untapped
districts along the Bay of Bengal.

Bangladesh's
business with China keep expanding rapidly and Chinese outbound
investment to the South Asian economy has also been increasing. Once the
project is completed, chinese investors can get some spaces to take
their industrial setup to the untpped areas at lower rate. Another
benefit would attract the investors as the Padma Bridge will reduce
travel time between Dhaka and Mongla port, which is shorter in distance
than the Chattogram port from Dhaka – Chattogram's 264 kilometres
against Mongla's 170 kilometres. Greater movement of freight between
Dhaka-Mongla port will also reduce the congestion at the Chattogram
port. As Padma bridge gradually getting shape,  many industries are
flocking to either buy land or take plots on a lease, signalling future
industrialisation in the country's southern region.

Padma
bridge will also connect these areas with our neighbouring countries
through the Asian Highway-1, Asian Highway-2, Asian Highway-41 and the
Trans-Asian Railway-1 and 2 which will stimulate further investments.
This connectivity, along with the ports in these regions can
significantly increase government revenue through using port related and
road related transport facilities. At the same time, the bridge will
connect Payra seaport, which many think will be a key for the economy
because of its geographical location. So, the project is too vital on
BRI perspective as well.

As
China is desiring to connect the whole South Asia, a key trading region
for chinese products, the bridge will be instrumental as the nation can
easily transport products to landlocked india's seven sisters and Nepal
from Mongla and Payra seaports by using the future econmic corridor. It
will also play a key role for proposed BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India
and Myanmer) economic corridor, which also one of the major routes in
BRI.

Building trust over China

Undoubtedly,
the construction of this 6.15 kilometre long double-deck bridge has
enhanced the confidence of the country. Simultaneously, it helps people
of Bangladesh gain trust over Chinese.  The much-hyped bridge project is
marked to be challenging for incumbent Awami League government since
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assuming power in 2009 as the deadlines of
the project have shifted several times due to uncertainty.

The
government declared it as a top priority project initially with a
2013-deadline to complete. But the billion-dollar project turned into
uncertainty as the World Bank withdrew its promised $1.2 billion loans
on allegation of corruption conspiracy, resulting in then the
Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain Hossain to quit in 2012.

Asian
Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica)
and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) followed the path of the WB by
pulling out of the project. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however,
brushed aside the corruption charge and declared a challenge to
construct the bridge with internal resources. Following firm
determination of the Bangladeshi premier, the Chinese government came up
offering to develop 170-kilometer rail track connecting southern
districts over the mighty river. Later, the WB allegation of 'suspected
corruption conspiracy' proven wrong after investigation and the Bretton
Woods institution appologised for it. But Bangladesh did not turn back
from its decision to make the mega infrastructure from own fund and
assaigned China Major Engineering Company Ltd to build the road part of
the bridge while China Railway Group Limited (CREC) is responsible to
build Padma Bridge Rail Link Project with a cost of more than 3.0
billion US dollars. Of the fund, over 80 per cent or 2.67 billion US
dollars funded by Exim Bank of China.

As
China extended its helping arms to make dream of around 170 million
people real in the crisis period, people trust over Beijing is being
developed in a massive way, which is the key to take the spirit of BRI
further ahead. Soon after installing final span on December last, people
with friends and families have been visiting the project site in boats
in holidays. They usually take selfie with the beautiful engineering
activities and share those in social media with hailing skills of
chinese engineers. So, the bridge will not only enhance socioeconomic
growth but also contribute to elevate the  bilateral relation to a
'strategic partnership for cooperation' from closer comprehensive
partnership as promised by heads of both countries during Chinese
President Xi Jinping's Dhaka visit on October in 2016.

Experts Opinions

Project
Director of Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project Mohammad Shafiqul Islam
said they have completed the major part of the bridge on December 2020
with installation of the last span of the structure.

Although
the Covid-19 pandemic slowed down the progress a bit, the engineers
have been tirelessly working to open the bridge for traffic by early
2022, he said.

Hailing
Chinese engineering skills to build such critical infrastructura over
the third largest river in the world in terms of mean average annual
discharge, he said the experience will certainly help local engineers in
coming days.

Project
Director of Padma Bridge Rail Link Project Engineer Golam Fakhruddin A
Chowdhury said the project is establishing rail link between Mawa and
Bhanga via Janjira and Shibchar through the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.

“The
project will be implemented within June, 2024. We have already
completed 30 percent of the works. The construction of the rail link is
moving fast,” he added.

About
outcomes of the exclusive connectivities, he said the present China is
the outcomes of the connectivities the socialist nation has been
developing over the years.

 “If we can use this connectivities the way China did, the benefits will be enormous,” he added.

Dr
Gawher Rizvi, adviser to the prime minister on international relation
affairs, at recent webinar hosted by Bangladesh China Silk Road Forum
said Bangladesh and China relations is important in many ways. Over the
last 10 years in particular, the development cooperation with China has
increased manifold.

 “Everwhere
you go, the fingerprint of China and its cooperation and contributions
to Bangladesh is obvious. You can see so many infrastructures including
bridges and buildings, these are visible symbols in our friendship,” he
said.

More
recently, Chinese contributions in the development of power, transport
infrastructures, industries and the investments it is making in the
special economic zones altogether shows that the bileteral relaionship
is stronger, deeper and wider that any time in history before.

Conclusion

Reliable
infrastructure plays a key role in economic growth. Studies have found
positive relationship between infrastructure and economic output in many
countries. This happens through gross domestic capital formation,
employment, trade and human capital. Good infrastructure enhances
productive capacity and improves competitiveness of a country. There is
ample evidence that infrastructure and output are mutually beneficial.
That is, infrastructure boosts output and higher output also leads to
better infrastructure. Finally, as Bangladesh is working towards
reviving the economy from the fallouts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the
Padma Bridge can help the country fulfil this effort to a great extent.
It can also contribute towards achieving sustainable development.

Editor | Zhang Mei

Design | Demi